If you know or have a feeling your hearing isn’t as good as it once was, we would love to see you for a hearing test with one of our skilled audiologists. You don’t need a referral, you can book direct with us (see our contact page for how to get in touch).
If you’re interested in the science of how we test your hearing, we use the following procedures to provide a comprehensive hearing assessment. Each test has a particular focus and is a valuable component of a full audiometric evaluation, and together the results will give a holistic view of hearing and ear functionality
Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA)
We use PTA to identify your hearing threshold levels, a key element of any hearing assessment. It uses frequency-specific pure tones to generate place-specific responses, and relies on both air and bone conduction audiometry. This enables us to determine the degree, type and configuration of any hearing loss. The audiogram that is produced is a subjective, behavioural measurement that relies on your response to pure tone stimuli – as such, it’s only appropriate for adults and children old enough to follow the test procedure.
Tympanometry
This is an objective examination that measures the pressure in your areas to assess the condition and function of the middle ear and the mobility of the eardrum (the ‘tympanic membrane’) and conduction bones. The test involves creating varying air pressure inside the ear canal, and isn’t a hearing test as such – rather, it measures how energy is transmitted through the ear allowing us to identify whether any hearing loss is sensorineural or conductive. It also enables a diagnosis of Ottis Media through identification of fluid build up.
Speech Audiogram
Where relevant, we also use speech audiometry – a complementary test to pure tone audiometry – to evaluate speech intelligibility. Combined, the two tests indicate both the absolute perceptual thresholds of tonal sounds and speech discrimination and intelligibility. This testing of both peripheral and central systems is crucial when assessing and fitting hearing aids and for particular diagnoses.
